Ellis, Warriors top Mavericks, create three-way tie in West

OAKLAND, California (Ticker) -- Monta Ellis scored 30 points
to lead six players in double figures for the Golden State
Warriors, who came back from a sluggish start to post an
important 114-104 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday
night.

With the win, the Warriors (45-28) moved into a three-way tie
with the Mavericks (45-28) and Denver Nuggets (45-28) for the
final two playoff spots in the wild Western Conference with nine
games remaining.

"A win is a win at this point," Davis said. "We played well
enough to win. We played good defense, we rebounded well, we
scrambled. We did everything that you have to do on a
back-to-back with a good team that's waiting, a playoff
contender. We did everything necessary to win and that's why we
were able to win."

Golden State led by eight points after three quarters, and Davis
started the fourth quarter with a layup before the Mavericks
rallied and got the lead down to 95-91 following Brandon Bass'
three-point play with 6:26 left to play.

But that would be as close as Dallas could get. Davis nailed a
clutch 3-pointer and, after the Mavericks again cut it down to
four, Kelenna Azubuike drilled a shot from the top of the arc to
give Golden State a 105-98 advantage with 3:47 remaining.

Later in the contest, Ellis drove to the paint and dished the
ball off to Biedrins for the easy dunk and a 113-104 bulge to
seal the win with 47 seconds to go. It was the 37th straight
game that Golden State scored at least 100 points.

"They were a challenge for us," Warriors coach Don Nelson said.
"I thought they stayed right in there and somehow he kept them
close. I was never comfortable throughout the game even when we
were 12 ahead. I just wasn't comfortable.

"But maybe I'm making too much out of the importance of all
these games, but this one ... when we go on our next road trip
we have a pretty tough road trip and it was important to get
this one and get off to the right start."

The Warriors, who still have not lost back-to-back games since
January 2-4, embark on a four-city, six-day road trip against
San Antonio, Dallas, Memphis and New Orleans before their next
home game vs. Sacramento on April 8.

"These nine games are all games that we can win and all games
that we need to put our focus and our mind to and get ready for
the playoffs," Davis said. "If we're gonna be a playoff team
then we gotta treat these last nine games as our playoffs."

The Warriors started slowly, missing their first 10 shots and
trailing, 12-0, before scoring their first basket on a putback
slam by Al Harrington with 7:56 remaining in the first quarter.
Dallas jumped out to that lead by making its first six shots.

The Mavericks built their lead to as many as 13 but Golden State
chipped away and eventually took a 27-26 advantage at the end
of the first when Stephen Jackson made a pair of free throws.

The Warriors never trailed for the rest of the game, dropping
the Mavericks' record to 0-10 against winning teams since the
arrival of point guard Jason Kidd.

"It's how it's been for us in this little stretch we're in,"
Kidd said. "We're right there we just can't get over the hump
and so the big thing is we have to stay together. Now we're in
a little situation that if the playoffs maybe had come a little
bit earlier and each game is huge, so we have to regroup and be
ready to play the Clippers tomorrow."

Golden State had an eight-point lead at the half and took its
largest advantage at 69-55 early in the third quarter before the
Mavericks went on an 8-0 run to get Dallas within six points.

Later in the quarter, after scrambling for a loose ball, Jason
Terry just threw the ball toward the top of the key where Kidd
was waiting and made a 3-pointer to cut the lead to 75-70 with
4:11 left in the third.

But Golden State again answered, pushing the lead back up to as
many as 12 points before settling for an 84-76 bulge after three
quarters.

Without forward Dirk Nowitzki, who has been sidelined with a
left high ankle and knee sprain since March 23, Dallas dropped
to 1-2. The All-Star is out indefinitely.

"It's not the easiest thing to do," Mavericks coach Avery
Johnson said. "If you think about it, if the Spurs lose (Tim)
Duncan or Cleveland loses LeBron (James). Anybody whose best
player is out is not easy. We haven't made any excuses. We've
been coming out here and trying to play hard and trying to win
and it's just the moral victories aren't any good right now.
We've got to try to score one more point than our opponent."

Josh Howard scored a game-high 36 points and Kidd nearly had his
100th career triple-double with 13 points, 14 assists and nine
rebounds for Dallas. Bass added a career-high 21 points off
the bench.

"I'm just trying to win games," Howard said. "I'm not worried
about what people are saying outside of the Mavericks
organization. I'm just trying to win games and stay in the
playoff hunt."